I'm tapped on the shoulder. "Follow me so we can get you washed up for supper." A kind, young-looking priest smiles at me and starts to walk off, but looking back to make sure I'm following him.
"My name is Dun, and I'll be the one helping you around till you're familiar with us. For now, the first and second hallway leads outside to the back area." We walk through the second hallway. "In the back are the fields and huts we use. Everyone's huts are the same, even though there are ranks here in the temple we still all live equally. Normally we all have chores to do around the temple but you are different as well as being a female, so what you'll do every day will be different from the rest of us." We walk past the fields of food, orchards, and a weird area with odd-looking plants. I point in that direction,
"What is that over there?"
Dun looks in the direction I point. "We study herbs to help others with their health. We pray and worship the gods, but we also must do what we can to help others for its what the goods want us to do." Dun speaks kindly with admiration for those he worships. I was intrigued.
"Will I ever get to meet the gods?"
"Well I hope so, the older you get the more you'll understand, so yes, hopefully, one day we all can." He smiles down at me with a patient gaze.
We finally make it to a pretty large hut.
"The head priest knew you were coming and already made arrangements for you to stay here. Everything you need should hopefully be in there. I had just finished filling your tub with hot water so it should be warm enough for you now. Will you be needing any help?"
"No, I can wash myself, I just can't handle my hair yet."
"Then please call on me when you need me. I'll be waiting right outside your hut." Dun opens the door and lets me walk in. There's a table in the center of the room, a large bed, meant for an adult male beast, in the back corner. Across from the bed is a shelf with nothing on it and 2 trunks on either side of it. On that same wall, there are hanging furs going out and around making a semi-circle. I guess that's where the tub is. I will explore the hut more later, for now, I'll bathe. After I finish my bath, I wrap myself in sheepskin. I walk to the first trunk and find all kinds of things in there but no clothes, so I go to the next one and finally find some clothes, but I have no idea how to put them on. These are not what I normally wear.
"DUN!! I need your help putting on these clothes." I holler loudly so he can hear me for sure. Dun walks in and helps me put it on while also explaining how to do it so I'll be able to do it next time on my own. It looks weird but it feels nice, and it covers everything. How am I supposed to run in this thing or climb? Dun takes my hand and leads me back down the path we just walked on, so I don't think about that anymore.
"You'll get used to wearing it. This also has a way of bringing more grace to your actions because it requires you to move in a certain way." It's like he can read my mind.
When we passed the fields we turned by them instead of going down the path that leads to the second hallway. Once we enter the next room all eyes turn to me and I hide behind Dun. There's nothing but male beast here. I don't like this.
"Lyria, Dun come sit over here." I hear the head priest call us over. I looked up and saw him sitting slightly higher than the rest and in an area that wasn't particularly crowded, so I walked over to him. All eyes are on us as we sit next to the head priest.
"You will sit here with me from now on. I hope this doesn't make you too uncomfortable. Later when you get used to the others you are more than welcome to move." I look up at him in fright. He seemed surprised that I feared the last part of his sentence. He stands up and in a steady voice, announces my presence.
"This is Lyria. As many of you know she was chosen by the Great Tree and will now be in training to become a priestess. I hope you will all behave accordingly and show Miss Lyria with great respect and patience. This is still a lot for her to take in so let her be the one to open up to us, please continue to do as you usually do." He sits back down after his speech to everyone.
Everyone starts to greet me.
"It's a pleasure to meet you."
"Hello, Miss Lyria."
I heard all kinds of nice comments and couldn't help but smile back at them. Maybe this won't be too bad. They all seem nice too.
After dinner, Dun made me lead to see if I knew my way back to my hut and I did. We bid each other goodnight. I crawl into bed after my very exhausting day. I hope my days will always be good like this.